WWF Cameroon

Abstract The “Mbooku” is an oral genre of poetry sung by the Fulani from Northern Cameroon, mostly during the 19th and 20th centuries and no longer practiced. Only poor-quality audios, videos, and few transcriptions, translations, and publications preserve this poetry in reminiscences of the past glories of this unique a capella popular literature in the Cameroon literary polysystem. The aim of this paper is to explore traces of multilingualism, especially French, English, Arabic, and other African and Cameroonian languages spoken in Cameroon (Hausa, Kanuri, Musgum, Massa and Chuwa Arabic) through the lens of cultural and postcolonial approaches. In these poems multilingualism reflects not only colonialism but also how (un)conscious use of “foreign” language helps build a nationwide literature through world languages and cultures inherited from colonization and through indigenous African languages.

Background: In large numbers of low- and middle-income countries, hospital waste management policies are conducted below the minimum standards due to resource scarcity. In these areas, accumulated wastes often represent potent sources of microbial populations that may evolve as health threats to humans’, animals’ and environmental health, further exacerbating poverty. Data from accumulated waste and/or its surrounding environment can therefore help to redefine, reorient and optimize waste management policies for the healthcare setting users’ safety. Objective: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the type, the diversity, the load and the drug susceptibility trends of bacteria populations that grow in the vicinity of solid waste accumulation sites in four healthcare facilities of the Ndé division, West Cameroon. Methods: Soil and air specimens were collected for bacterial screening at varying distances from the solid waste accumulation sites. Culture, isolation, identification, enumeration and susceptibility tests on bacteria isolates were performed according to standard protocols. Results: Relevant findings revealed diversified populations made up of 53 bacterial groups including Staphylococcus spp. (50.94%), Gram-positive rods (26.42%), Acinetobacter spp. (11.32%), Klebsiella spp. (7.55%), Serratia spp. and Pseudomonas spp. (1.89% each). In terms of their loads, Gram-negative rods loads were higher than those observed with other morphological types. Further details indicated higher loads and diversities in soil specimens collected in the vicinity of solid waste accumulation sites. These trends in loads and diversity were particularly obvious in one of the four target healthcare institutions. The susceptibility tests revealed multidrug resistance, with the highest rates recorded against beta-lactam antibiotics. The most effective drugs consisted of Gentamicin, Clindamycin, Erythromycin, and Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole. Conclusion: These findings are indications that exposed human populations are at risk of contracting resistant bacteria, with a higher likelihood in the vicinity of accumulated wastes in all settings. Accordingly, contextual implementation of hospital hygiene policies in line with biosafety and biosecurity was suggested as a priority to meet the expectations of the 1st, 3rd and 4th United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Abstract BackgroundEmergency medicine systems are vital for reducing mortality and disability, yet Cameroon faces significant healthcare access challenges, with only 0.6% of GDP allocated to public health and 70% of health expenditures paid out-of-pocket. This study assessed proportion of population benefiting from health coverage, patterns, and associated factors in Cameroon to inform policies aimed at achieving universal health coverage (UHC).MethodsA nationally representative cross-sectional survey was conducted from February to March 2024, involving 1,200 adults selected via multistage random sampling. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews by national Afrobarometer team, and analyzed with R Statistics version 4.4.2. Logistic regression identified factors associated with medical coverage, adjusting for sociodemographic, economic, and occupational variables.ResultsA proportion of 7.9% (95% CI: 6.4–9.6) of respondents reported benefiting from a health coverage in 2024, with the lowest rates reported in the North, Adamawa, Centre, and North-West regions. Private health insurance was the most common (44.3%), followed by civil servant schemes (20.5%) and community-based insurance (15.9%). Unemployed individuals were twice as likely to lack coverage (aOR = 2.22, 95% CI: 1.42–3.51). Those with secondary education had twice the odds of being uninsured compared to tertiary-educated individuals (aOR = 2.00, 95% CI: 1.21–3.27). Insured individuals were more likely to use healthcare services (9.6%; p = 0.028), reported easier access to medical care (15.8%; p = 0.010), and expressed fewer concerns about healthcare access (23.4%; p < 0.001). Barriers among the uninsured included high costs (37.1%), lack of information (31.6%), complex registration processes (8.5%) and geographical constraints. Most of the community members reported being quite (51.1%) or very satisfied (23.9%) by the medical coverage they are benefiting from. Notably, 68% of respondents supported higher taxes to improve healthcare access.ConclusionCameroon’s suboptimal medical coverage reflects systemic inequities tied to employment and education. Expanding employer-independent schemes, subsidizing premiums, and leveraging community-based models are critical to advancing UHC. Public willingness to contribute through taxes suggests political viability for systemic reforms.

The widespread use of antimicrobials in poultry production for therapeutic and non-therapeutic purposes has resulted in the emergence and dissemination of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Enterobacteriaceae, such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Proteus spp., and Salmonella spp. These organisms, routinely found in poultry and their environments, carry a variety of resistance genes that can be transferred to humans through the food chain, environmental contamination, and direct contact. The consequences of these resistance genes are profound, leading to increased morbidity and mortality associated with resistant infections. As a result, the effectiveness of last-resort antibiotics is compromised, resulting in the need for more expensive and less effective treatments, posing a substantial economic burden on healthcare systems. In this review, we discuss the resistance genes present in poultry and its environment, modes of transmission and acquisition of these resistance genes, and associated public health implications. It emphasizes the need for enhanced surveillance, alternative management strategies in poultry farming, and coordinated global efforts to mitigate the public health threat posed by resistant Enterobacteriaceae.

The scope of wetlands in Cameroon in terms of habitat and species diversity and distribution, their importance given their environmental and ecological services, and their socioeconomic value to human populations as well as for wildlife conservation have been discussed. Cameroon wetlands are already threatened, degraded, and sometimes destructed as a consequence of both natural and anthropogenic causes. Maintaining a balance between the needs of the local communities and ecological integrity of the remaining wetland ecosystems has been a challenging national and regional cause for concern for governments and different development partners in the country and Central African region especially as wetland issues transcend national boundaries. This dismal situation has been recognized by the donor and development agencies and the government, but measures to address the situation so far have been inadequate. There is an evolving march toward filling policy gaps by developing a national wetlands policy within which wetlands conservation and poverty reduction issues are mainstreamed. It has also been demonstrated that site programs largely employing the ecosystem approach can contribute to strengthening mainstreaming at different levels be it national and international levels. The chapter further highlights the level of achievements of these mainstreaming strategies, processes, shortcomings, and way forward toward safeguarding livelihoods and the developmental drives in Cameroon.

The coast is the most dynamic part of the Earth’s surface due to its strategic position at the interface of the land and the sea. It is, therefore, exposed to hazards and specific risks because of the geography as well as the geological and environmental characteristics of different countries. The coastal environment is essentially dynamic and evolving in time and space, marked by waves, tides, and seasons; moreover, it is subjected to many marine and continental processes (forcing). This succession of events significantly influences the frequency and severity of coastal hazards. The present paper aims at describing and characterizing the hazards and vulnerabilities on the Cameroonian coast. Cameroon possesses 400 km of coastline, which is exposed to various hazards. It is important to determine the probabilities of these hazards, the associated effects, and the related vulnerabilities. In this study, in this stable intraplate setting, the methodology used was diverse and combined techniques for the study of the shore and methods for the treatment of climatic data. Also, historical data were collected during field observations and from the CRED website for all the natural hazards recorded in Cameroon. In addition, documents on climate change were consulted. Remotely sensed data, combined with GIS tools, helped to determine and assess the associated risks. A critical grid combining a severity and frequency analysis was used to better understand these hazards and the coastal vulnerabilities of Cameroon. The results show that Cameroon’s coastal margins are subject to natural processes that cause shoreline changes, including inundation, erosion, and accretion. This study identified seven primary hazard types (earthquakes, volcanism, landslides, floods, erosion, sea level rise, and black tides) affecting the Cameroonian coastline, with the erosion rate exceeding 1.15 m/year at Cape Cameroon. Coastal populations are continuously threatened by these natural or man-induced hazards, and they are periodically subjected to catastrophic disasters such as floods and landslides, as experienced in Cameroon. In addition, despite the existence of the National Contingency Plan devised by the Directorate of Civil Protection, National Risk, and Climate Change Observatories, the implementation of disaster risk reduction and mitigation strategies is suboptimal.

This study aimed at characterizing stand structure following dieback in the four key mangrove ecosystems in and around the Gambia, West Africa. The study used permanent sample plots following specific treatment, namely, affected and healthy sites. Thirty-two 10 m × 10 m mangrove permanent sample plots in eight transects of 2 km were each separated at 500-m interval. The plots were assessed for tree and stand parameters using standard forest mensuration. The complex data set was analyzed to ascertain differences in treatment factors. The four selected sites manifested different levels of dieback: Normal crown mortality was very prominent in River Gambia Mouth (18.39%) with Conocarpus erectus ; Crown dieback in Bitang Bolong (30.5%) with Rhizophora mangle and River Gambia Mouth (25.2%) with Avicennia ; Branch dieback in Niumi National Park (34.1%) with Avicennia germinans ; root dieback was remarkable in Bitang Bolong (80%) with Rhizophora mangle with the rest of the sites recording root mortalities of above 20%. However, Tanbi Wetlands Complex presented a good proportion (5.6%–30.5%) of the various types of partial mortalities compared to other study sites. Generally, in all sites, the species worst hit was Conocarpus erectus , Avicennia , and Rhizophora mangle . Hence, stakeholders should embark on green or environmentally friendly infrastructures within mangrove and wetlands areas. The observed cause was revealed, and continued monitoring of plots once every 2 years as obtained elsewhere in Central Africa to quantify important forest dynamic parameters amidst climate change will be key.

ABSTRACT Lack of data on the population size of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the Yoko Council Forest (YCF), located in the Centre region of Cameroon has hindered the ability to develop conservation measures. The sustainable management of this species requires reliable knowledge of their ecology, habits and resource needs. This study was conducted from February–July 2022 to assess nesting ecology and to use nest decay rates to estimate population size. The retrospective method for studying the degradation of animal indices was used. The mean nest decay rate was 77.5 days and density was estimated at 69.3 [54.9 86.7] nests/ km2 to 113 chimpanzees per km2. We also found a high preference for nests in specific forest types, with 92% of nests in marantaceous forests, and a preference for nests to be on Khaya grandifolia (Meliaceae) (28.24%) or Uapaca guinensis (Euphorbiaceae) (27.06%) trees. The preferential position for construction of chimpanzee nests was on a branch (58.82%) as opposed to in a branch fork (40.39%), which is interesting since one would assume a fork would offer more nest stability. Our study offers crucial insights that can guide policymakers in formulating targeted conservation strategies for the substantial chimpanzee population in the YCF.